Yes, I am and I have often thought about what this really means to me, because I have never appreciated religion; No part of it never made any sense to me. So I thought about the cultural aspect, which seems inseparable from the historical ties, which are founded in the religion.
Unlike most secular Jews I don't have any interest in setting foot in a synagogue, not even for the main holidays. Whenever I have to go into a synagogue for some family gathering I can't help but think of the stupidity of prayers and worship. It's hard for me to respect anyone who believes in religious ideas and I am in awe of how even very intelligent people can be the holders of such fragmented minds to entertain the insanity of their religious beliefs.
I find rabbis in general, like all clergy, to be experts in nonsense and a jumble of conflicted teachings. Unlike most secular Jews, I have no appreciation for tradition. I find Judaism as a religion to be the result of arbitrary rules and practices — some goofballs invented the whole shebang and now people act as if it is holy and beyond reproach. I would much rather talk to my dog than try to have a conversation with a rabbi or religious person. At least my dog knows how to listen and never says anything stupid.
When it comes to the cultish fringe of Judaism, as you call it, I am less baffled than I am with non-religious Jews who do not question the religion and imbibe in its silliness. This is because at least the cultish fringe is true to their delusion by buying into the whole fiction and distortion that embody the teachings.
I have heard all the excuses for religion that human beings can muster, and all I can glean from them is what I have said before: There is a necessity in human beings to take refuge in institutions that they themselves created for the purpose of taking refuge. Fear is the greatest motivator for huddling together with other birds of the same flock and praying to a sociopathic god.
There is more to say, but it's obvious you have also thought this out to the nth degree.
Beyond all of what I have written, it is obvious to me that the Jewish people has suffered the slings and arrows of hate and oppression for thousands of years. Antisemitism is a disgusting and morally reprehensible enterprise spurred on by religious ideas going back to the early days of Christianity and to the beginnings of the oil wars coming out of the Arab nations. And while I support the theory of a Jewish homeland because other people just cannot behave themselves, I feel that every people that has the opportunity to be in power will abuse others if given the chance. There is no utopia that comes from religious ideas and institutions.
